Preparation for the meeting with your boss is the crucial moment. However, you may practice for years, and suddenly one of your interlocutors will ask you the concept you do not know – a vocational phrase you do not understand or just a sudden one that will get you in a tight corner. What should you do if you hear such a question? In this research, we gathered some basic tips for students or young employees to succeed and survive the meeting.

Do Not Hurry

Let us start from the scratch: demonstrate that you listen to the representatives and proceed with thinking. The simple pause – “Hmm. Let me think over it” – will fully satisfy your interlocutor, and you will get a little more time to reflect overall how to respond. This is a natural desire to fill in the words to avoid an awkward silence. Do not hurry but gather your thoughts. It is important not to blurt out details off topic, something that shows your complete lack of understanding. Remember that some skills of a good orator will be handy here.

Change the Topic

If you hear the question from the sphere, you are not competent in, admit it and try to change the subject to the familiar to you. If you cannot talk about the peculiar skill but can link it with the other one, it is better to say at least something to the point, than admit that you can only learn in the process of work. If you want to get the position of editor in the magazine and the boss wants to hear whether you know how to check and proofread texts, but you have never done it before, tell him about another knowledge and skills you have (modern techniques of story-writing or developed rewriting methods)

Speak Instead of Keeping Silent

Remember that people, who conduct the interviews, like to confuse the future employees and, therefore, ask tricky questions. The aim of such trick is not to hear the answer now, but to see if you can handle the pressure. Therefore, when you gather all thoughts, try to explain briefly what your point of view was and move on. For example, if you were asked to tell about your procedure of editing large articles and you have no clue how to do this, a good way is to imagine how you are editing this article, and talk aloud about every step. Add an introductory word and constructions – “first,” “then,” “finally” to give the structured response. You can end with the warning that specific conditions depend on the situation. It shows that you are willing to adapt, even if you answered wrong.

Have the Backup Plan

Of course, someone can ask you such a question, and there will be no opportunity to evade it with the help of previous methods – if it, for example, requires the knowledge of quite specific concepts. Then, lean on the data you have already learned about the position and industry. Prepare the response that will draw on your willing to get this position. “I’m not familiar with this concept, but finance (for example) is exactly what I wanted to do, and I constantly gain new knowledge in this area. I follow the transactions and read about some of them attended by your company. I also know a lot about the field you work in, and I think that many of your approaches and propositions create interesting opportunities on the selling market.”

What we wanted to say with this writing is that you need to take lessons from everything that happens during the meeting. In addition, whatever you will hear and see, try to grasp the desire of the interviewer and try to please him. You can give no answer to a specific question, but if you managed to understand, what the manager is trying to find out – respond to his demands and you will get the desired job.